Rainy Night
by AngelWithACrookedHalo
Summary: Set after the end of the first portion of the Dark Enforcer sidequest. Yuri was forced to sleep outside the inn with Repede, just like Rita said back in Torim. TW: Some strong language use Title sucks, I don't care.


Rainy Night

Yuri Lowell had found himself in a lot of weird situations in his life. Far too many of those existed in his childhood, growing up poor and doing whatever it took to get some bread for a meal. His brief period of knightwork provided many more, not limiting to waking up next to a shirtless Flynn a few times. The blonde knight had always blamed it on a form of sleepwalk and Yuri had never believed him. But this moment had to have been somewhere in the top ten of all those moments combined. For the first time in his life, the male had been told off by a girl six years younger than him and banished to the outdoor deck of Heliord's inn. Her words from almost a week earlier rang in his head.

_ "Next time, you can sleep outside with the dog!"_

He thought of it as an empty threat. After all, she had made many threats mostly to Karol and never acted on anything more than a slap or a kick before letting it go. This time was different. She had pushed him away from the door and warned him about going in the inn. The next batch of words were still just as vibrantly clear as if she was speaking to him currently.

_"What did I say last time? You caused too much trouble. You're sleeping outside while the rest of us stay in the inn! Some people want a good nights sleep, you know!"_

Yuri grumbled and shifted positions, leaning against the inn's wall. The rain from earlier had not let up and the light drip and splatter of the drizzle was just enough to keep him awake. Repede had curled up next to him and was sleeping soundly. He idly petted his companion as he stared out at the dark waterfall behind the inn. It wasn't like he had never slept outside before. It was the entire situation that made him mad. If he didn't wholeheartedly believe that she could possibly kill him, he wouldn't have even complied.

Repede opened his only eye and gave a yawn. He looked up and over at the wall opposite Yuri. The male turned his head to follow the dogs gaze. "What's the matter, Repede?"

The dog stood up and shook his fur off before padding away into the rain. Yuri shrugged. He wouldn't be gone long. He turned his attention to the outside, listening once again to the waterfall. Just a few seconds later, the distinct sound of rustling fabric could be heard from a short distance. Yuri gripped his scabbard tightly, ready to throw it aside and attack whatever it was. He looked over in the direction of the noise and started to stand. He remained in a kneeling position as a voice hissed at him,

"Hey, it's me, dumbass!"

Yuri relaxed his guard and stared at the figure before him. His eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness, making it easier to see. And what he cold see was short, wore red, and was now tapping their foot on the wood floor. There was something loosely bundled up in their arms which flapped in the breeze.

"What, have you come to banish me to the streets now instead of outside the inn, Rita?" Yuri asked bitterly.

"Shut up," Rita scowled. She looked off to the side, her eyes seemingly focusing on the large blastia in the middle of the town. "I'm trying to be nice here. You could acknowledge that at least."

Yuri raised an eyebrow at her. That was a sudden change in character. "And how would you be doing that?"

Rita grumbled and shook the fabric open. After looking at it for a second, Yuri identified the cloth as one of the blankets from the inn. He looked back at her face and asked, "What's that for?"

Rita huffed and stomped the toe of her boot on the ground aggressively. "It's for you, you stupidass."

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "For me?"

"Did I fucking stutter?"

Yuri blinked a couple times before holding out his hand to her. "Thanks...I guess," he muttered.

Rita moved the blanket away and took a step backwards. "Nuh-uh. Not yet."

The male frowned. "And why not?"

Rita pursed her lips tightly and tapped her foot rapidly on the floor. She puffed out her cheeks a little as she glared at him. After a few moments, she finally mumbled something under her breath. When Yuri gave her a confused look, her cheeks pinked and she huffed.

"I'm only saying this one more time. So listen up." Rita took a short deep breath and continued, "I might have felt bad about kicking out out in the rain. So I brought you this." She held out the blanket again, her face a darker pink.

Yuri studied her for a moment before holding out his hand again. "Then let's have it."

The girl growled quietly and took a few small steps closer to him. Without any kind of warning, she plopped down next to him and threw the blanket over their legs. Yuri was now thoroughly lost. He opened his mouth to talk, but never got the chance.

"I...wanted to say thanks too. I guess," Rita said quietly, "For earlier. Even though I still got hurt." She took a quick glance at him before looking back at the dimly glowing barrier blastia in the distance. "No one has ever tried to stop me from doing something dangerous before."

"Yeah, well...we're a team. All five of us." Yuri replied. He looked down at her and could have sworn he saw a smile.

The brunette looked back at him, and suddenly, the smile vanished. "If you tell anyone about any of this, I won't hesitate to kill you," she warned.

Yuri shrugged and raised a hand. "Scouts honor." Rita eyed him warily for a moment. She must have been satisfied with the answer for she looked away from him, closed her eyes, and yawned. The ex-knight just stared at her. "Shouldn't you be going back to bed now or something?" he asked.

"This is my blanket, and I'm using it," she said stubbornly.

Yuri closed his eyes. It didn't seem like there could be any winning with her. He felt a small nudge against his arm and opened one eye to take a look. Rita had fallen slightly to one side and was now using his bicep as a pillow. Yuri let out a long exhale and leaned his back against the wall. He stared at the ceiling for a good long moment before looking back at the young girl next to him. Sleeping, she didn't seem that bad at all. A little cute even.

"You're definitely full of surprises," he said to mostly himself.

Rita shifted slightly. "Shut up and sleep," she grumbled.

He chuckled quietly and watched her for a little bit longer before yawning and closing his eyes. Even though she was small and barely on him, she was quite warm. It was comforting in a way. Enough to get him to gently drift to dreamland. Yuri had one final thought before finally nodding off: Rita really wasn't that bad after all.


End file.
